Similarly, the “clean with me” video genre on YouTube and Instagram has turned household chores into spectator sports. Watching a stranger organize their pantry or scrub a tile grout provides the same dopamine release as finishing a level in a video game, but without the thumb cramps.

Sometime between the third global lockdown and the endless scroll of the “For You” page, the cultural pendulum snapped back with a vengeance. The hottest genre of 2024 isn’t a thriller or a noir. It is the .

Studios are pivoting. HBO Max (now just “Max”) is reportedly developing a Harry Potter series that leans into the “hanging out at Hogwarts” vibes rather than the dark magic. Netflix’s algorithm now prioritizes “repeat value”—shows you can fall asleep to without missing a plot point.

This doesn’t mean the end of edgy content. The Last of Us and The Bear (which, despite its stress, is technically a comedy) prove that high-tension art still has a place. But the center of gravity has shifted.

For nearly two decades, the golden age of television was defined by a specific kind of anxiety. We worshipped the moral rot of Walter White, the nihilistic chess games of Succession , and the soul-crushing dread of Chernobyl . The mantra was simple: darker, smarter, harder. If it didn’t make you feel like you needed a shower afterward, was it even art?

Join the Rusty Animator Newsletter

Enter your name and email below for free animation guides, tutorials, live events, and exclusive offers unavailable to anyone else.

>